Yahaya Bello Trial: Witness Links ₦2.1bn Loan Repayments to Kogi LG Funds
The trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, took a dramatic turn on Wednesday as a prosecution witness told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that a ₦2.1 billion loan was repaid using funds traced to Kogi State local government areas.
Testifying before Justice Maryanne Anineh, the 10th Prosecution Witness (PW10), Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank, detailed what he described as complex financial movements involving public funds, multiple accounts and structured cash withdrawals.
Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Egoro disclosed that Keyless Nature Limited received a ₦2.1 billion loan disbursement on December 14, 2021. According to him, loan repayments — including interest — were made between January and May 2022, with the source of funds traced to various Kogi State local government accounts.
The witness told the court that repayments continued consistently on the 14th of each month up to December 2022, maintaining the same pattern and funding source.
He further testified that between December 2021 and July 2022, multiple credit inflows from Kogi local governments were paid into several accounts, including Keyless Nature Limited and Fazab Business Enterprise, followed by immediate cash withdrawals or transfers.
In one instance, Egoro revealed that between June and July 2022, Fazab Business Enterprise received ₦241.63 million from various local governments, out of which ₦203.9 million was withdrawn in cash by one Yakubu Adabenege Siyaka. He alleged that most withdrawals were structured in amounts designed to evade reporting thresholds, though the bank still filed Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
The court also heard that in March and August 2019, large sums were withdrawn in structured ₦10 million tranches from the Kogi State Government House account. On January 15 and 16, 2019 alone, Aminu Jimoh Olarenwaju reportedly made 20 withdrawals of ₦10 million each over two days, totaling ₦200 million. Similarly, on August 1, 2019, Abdulsalami Hudu allegedly made 30 withdrawals of ₦10 million each, amounting to ₦300 million.
Egoro said the bank flagged some of the transactions as suspicious because they did not align with the customer’s profile.
The witness also narrated how Westwood Limited received a loan of ₦818.7 million in 2018 and later saw multiple cash deposits by different individuals at the Lokoja branch of Access Bank in 2020 to liquidate the facility — despite the account being domiciled in Abuja.
He further identified several exhibits tendered by the prosecution, including account opening documents and bank statements of entities such as Keyless Nature Limited, Hayzma Business Enterprise and E-Traders International Limited, which he said showed repeated inflows from local governments followed by immediate withdrawals or transfers to linked accounts.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel P.B. Daudu, SAN, the witness admitted he was not the relationship manager of the accounts but a compliance officer, and therefore not privy to the internal operations of the Kogi State Government House. He also confirmed that Suspicious Transaction Reports cannot be publicly disclosed under the law.
Justice Anineh admitted multiple subpoenaed documents in evidence and adjourned the case to March 10, 11 and 12, 2026, for continuation of trial.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Bello over alleged financial impropriety involving Kogi State funds, allegations the former governor has denied.
